Golden Gate Trail Race

I'm about halfway through my marathon training and I had to run 16 miles this weekend. I thought it would be a great idea to sign up for a half marathon and just run 3 miles either before or after. Wow. What I didn't consider was that trail races are typically harder and steeper than your average road race!

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This race was no exception. It started out straight up a hill... and we continued going uphill for the next 3 miles! I had decided to run a mile beforehand, but misjudged the time it would take me to get back to the starting line, so I literally ran up to the back of the pack and then started running uphill with everyone else.

The hills were steep. I hiked more than I ran for the first couple miles. Everyone else had to stop and walk too, because not only was it steep, it was rocky! Oh my goodness, it was tough! After about 2 miles, I knew this was the toughest half marathon I'd done yet. I was exhausted and HOT. It was very windy and cold by the starting line at the beach, but as soon as we started up those hills, I got overheated real fast. I was shedding all my extra layers within the first mile.

We continued running on hilly trails in the hot sun; hiking up the steep rocky parts, and trying not to fall down the steep rocky parts when going downhill for most of the race. Luckily there were some gorgeous views of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Pacific Ocean. This was one of the toughest races I've done, but also the most beautiful!

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After the initial three miles of uphill torture, I started to enjoy myself. We started to run up and down and along the ridge instead of just straight uphill. I discovered trail running is really kind of fun! There seems to be more camaraderie in a trail race. People were running in groups and talking, and actually stopping along the trail to wait up for friends. It was more like a group running adventure than a race! I really enjoyed that atmosphere of being on the trail for fun.

Another unusual thing was that the race directors made you stop at the fuel stops, even if just for a bit. You weren't allowed to just run right by. People were actually hanging out at the rest stops for awhile and chowing down on some chips, oranges, pretzels, and other snacks. I joined in and it was nice to take a few minutes to rest and refuel.

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About halfway through the race, I had a near fall. I was running down a steep hill on some rocky terrain and loose gravel, when I tripped and felt my foot slipping out from under me. Luckily I was able to stagger and stay on my feet. Luckily because it was REALLY steep and I could have gotten seriously injured.

Then I did fall, about mile 10. It wasn't in such a bad spot as the first near-accident, but I still fell pretty hard. The guy in front of me stopped and turned around and the guy behind me ran up and they helped me up. SO embarrassing. The guys were really nice and waited to see if I was okay. I assured them that I just needed to walk it off and I'd be fine. I had to walk for a good 4-5 minutes and my hip was throbbing, but eventually I felt okay to run again.

The last mile was the only mile partially on paved road and it was mostly downhill! Hallelujah! I don't know if I've ever been so happy to see a finish line. Needless to say, I didn't run the extra two miles to make it to 16 (I ended up running 14 miles total due to the extra mile I ran before the race).

This was one of my slowest half marathon times, but I didn't care. It was tough! Also this marks my first trail race. And my first fall during a race. haha.

Official time: 2:20:47

My Splits: You can tell how hilly it was by the wide variance in times. Obviously mile 5 was all downhill!

1	09:40
2	11:54
3	12:48
4	09:35
5	08:00
6	13:23
7	10:23
8	10:37
9	08:58
10	09:39
11	08:55
12	11:09
13	08:41
14	05:27
Summary:	2:19:09